Are writers and book reviewers all just desperate attention-mongers?

Some writers aren’t happy with simply writing books for attention, but also write reviews.

Some who write for publications will get paid to do so, and their author name will be associated with the review, plus overseen by the publication. Many agree this is perfectly legitimate, a way for an author to earn a living, and not chickenshit at all.

Some authors, however, will post reviews online anonymously or using a different name. Is that okay? What do you think?

From some author blogs:

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Do authors give up some rights when it comes to reviews?

While there’s a great and long tradition of writers penning thoughtful negative reviews that demonstrate respect for the subject at hand … I do believe writers give up the right to write casually bitchy reviews.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying authors can’t write reviews. But writers should require themselves to write thoughtful reviews. They should elevate the discourse, not lower it. And they should treat their fellow writerly comrades at arms with the respect they deserve.

I have, in fact, written a few snarky book reviews myself (under my dayname, of course). One of them was a disappointed and shamefully bitter response to a book I had certain expectations of, that turned out to be something different than I thought.

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4 comments on “Are writers and book reviewers all just desperate attention-mongers?”

Olivia here — I just wanted to clarify something it turns out I’d left rather muddled in my post. (My books have editors — my blog posts, sadly, just have me.) The snarky reviews I’ve written were penned years ago, long before I became an author. I was working in a bookstore at the time, and reading/reviewing books was highly encouraged.

Since I started writing, and especially since I started publishing, any snark of mine goes toward industry shenanigans, quirky Wikipedia lists, and, of course, myself.

I realize that by commenting here I’m only adding evidence for the thesis that writers are — what was the phrase — “desperate attention-mongers,” but hey, we do what we must to keep doing what we love.